If We Want Regional Australia to Thrive, We Must Fund Housing Where It’s Needed Most

March 2, 2026

By Carolyn Doherty, CEO, Argyle Housing

Australia’s housing crisis is often discussed as a problem of capital cities with soaring rents, crowded apartments and long commutes. But beyond the city limits, in regional communities like the Southern Highlands and Riverina, the crisis is just as real and in many ways more confronting.

Recently, our region was forced to confront this reality when a woman experiencing homelessness was found living rough in a tent in a local park. Her situation only gained wider attention after she reached out for help and her plea was amplified by a local radio station. It should not take media attention for someone sleeping outdoors in a regional town to be seen, heard or supported yet too often, that is exactly what it takes.

This is not an isolated case. It is a visible symptom of a deeper and growing problem across rural and regional Australia.

At Argyle Housing, we work across the Southern Highlands, Riverina and regional New South Wales, and we see housing stress every day. People living in cars or makeshift accommodation. Women escaping domestic and family violence with nowhere safe to go. Older residents facing homelessness for the first time after a relationship breakdown or rental increase. Essential workers unable to find housing close to their jobs.

In regional areas, homelessness is often hidden until it is not. When someone is forced to live in a tent in a park, the system has already failed them.

Housing stress in the regions looks different to the cities. There are fewer rental properties, fewer crisis accommodation options, and far fewer pathways into stable, long-term housing. When a single rental home leaves the market, the impact can ripple through an entire town. When there is no social or community housing available, people are left with impossible choices; either leave their community, live rough, or remain in unsafe situations.

This is not just a housing issue. It is a community and economic issue.

Housing is critical economic infrastructure for regional Australia. Without it, towns cannot attract or retain the workers they rely on. Nurses, teachers, aged care staff, disability support workers and police are essential to the functioning of regional communities, yet too many are priced out or forced to commute long distances because there is nowhere affordable to live. Businesses struggle to attract staff, services are stretched, and community wellbeing declines.

Community housing providers like Argyle Housing play a critical role in preventing these outcomes. In many regional towns, we are the only providers delivering affordable, long-term housing for people on low and moderate incomes. We do not just provide a roof. We provide stability, dignity and a foundation for people to rebuild their lives and participate fully in their local economy.
But delivering housing in regional areas is not easy and it is not cheap.

Construction costs are higher due to distance and access to trades. Smaller developments mean fewer economies of scale. Older housing stock requires ongoing maintenance to remain safe, accessible and fit for purpose. Yet too often, funding models are designed with metropolitan density in mind, inadvertently disadvantaging regional projects.

This is why the opening of Round 3 of the Housing Australia Future Fund is so important.

The Housing Australia Future Fund represents a once in a generation opportunity to invest in social and affordable housing at scale, and Round 3 now provides a timely chance to ensure this investment reaches rural and regional communities. But if the program is to be truly national in impact, it must intentionally support delivery beyond capital cities. That means recognising higher per dwelling costs in regional areas, valuing smaller place-based developments that may not deliver hundreds of apartments but can change the trajectory of an entire town, and recognising housing as essential infrastructure that underpins workforce participation and regional productivity.

The woman living in a tent in the Southern Highlands did not need a media spotlight. She needed a home. And there are many others like her whose stories are not being broadcast, but whose need is just as urgent.

Housing investment in regional areas delivers far reaching returns. Stable housing improves health and wellbeing. It supports workforce participation. It allows people to age in place and remains connected to their community. It reduces pressure on crisis services, hospitals and local councils.

At Argyle Housing, we have seen how even a small number of well located, well managed homes can make a meaningful difference. We have also seen the consequences of insufficient supply growing waitlists, rising homelessness, and people falling through the gaps.

If we are serious about strengthening regional Australia, we must start with housing.

That requires long term funding certainty, strong partnerships between government, community housing providers and local councils, and funding programs like the Housing Australia Future Fund that reflect the realities of regional delivery. It also requires acknowledging that homelessness exists everywhere not just in our cities and responding accordingly.

Regional communities are resilient and generous. But resilience should not be mistaken for self-sufficiency. People in regional Australia deserve the same access to safe, secure housing as those in our capital cities.

If we want regional Australia to thrive, we must fund housing where it is needed most and treat it as the critical infrastructure it truly is.